Tips for Thais on working with Expat bosses

March 2001

Thailand Tales usually offers tips to foreigners working in Thailand. This month however I have decided to bridge the gap by sharing my tips for Thais on how to work better with foreigners. I have provided below tips that I have collected from observations of working in a cross cultural environment. It is useful primarily for Thais who work with foreigners or modern Thai bosses, but could also be useful for foreigners who want to tell their Thai subordinates how to work with him or her, but have no time to do it. So to my usual foreign readership, you can pass this page on to your Thai team, and even use the email button at the bottom! Assertiveness when disagreeing: When you disagree with the boss's idea or instructions, particularly about the deadline, implementation details or critical activity, please let him know. Say it nicely but in a straightforward manner. Do not nod your head and say yes when you don't mean it. Expat bosses have a high concern for "the promise". When you promise to carry out an instruction or deliver on a deadline, knowing you can't deliver, you will destroy the trust and the "sanctity of the promise". When you destroy the trust, next time you will have to work even harder in order to win back the trust. Ask questions when you don't know The modern boss will not be angry with you if you ask questions when you are unsure of what you being asked to do. I regularly see both Thai and foreigner bosses showing great appreciation when employees ask them a question. Asking a question demonstrates your interest; it also shows that you have a commitment towards understandingthe job. Many of us Thais don't like to ask questions because we afraid to lose face. ...Yet losing face is far preferable to losing trust (or losing your job!). The modern Thai or foreign boss does not look down on you when you ask a question. If you don't understand or don't know how to do a job, but just do it you will most likely do it wrong! We are used to "guessing" what our bosses want. But that is no longer good enough for the modern boss, who wants things done right the first time. Admit it early when mistakes happen When mistakes happen, we Thais have a tendency to cover it up. We don't want people to know about our mistakes, particularly our boss! You may be surprised that mistakes can be resolved more easily if you tell your boss earlier. The longer you keep a problem to yourself, the more difficult it is to solve. Naturally a boss, especially if he has not worked with Thai's much and doesent understand our need to "keep face" will often get angry. If you don't want your boss to get mad at you, perhaps admit your mistakes as soon as you know about them. If you afraid that the boss might become angry at you when you admit your mistake, you might want to tell him a quote by General Colin Powell Chairman (Ret), US Joint Chief of Staff. "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership." Be Specific We Thais have a tendency to beat around the bush. It's hard for us to talk about problems straightforwardly or directly. We have a tendency to "cosmeticize" our words and conversation. It has little to do with problems in communicating in English. Even in the Thai language, I often see examples of how we we beat around the bush untill we confuse even our own Thai speaking people. We need to be more specific in our communication - both in speaking and writing. How do you tell you are not being specific enough? If you are asked repeatedly the question "What do you mean by that…?" If you hear that question more than 4 or five times in one conversation, you have to work at being more specific. You may need to reorganize your message by writing it first prior to speaking it out. Sequence the message; what is the problem, why it happened, what was the background, what is your proposed solution, and what consequences do you anticipate. Don't go to your boss with problems only, but also with solutions Many Thais are afraid to tell the boss about a problem because we are scared that the boss will ask us what we think! Our education system has brought us up to just follow directions, and not to question authority. Many years ago, I worked with a Thai in Bangkok who had graduated from the UK. When I had a problem and approached him for a solution he told me - "Please come to me with solutions - don't come to me only with problems". I was shocked when I heard this the first time. "...How come?...," I asked myself, "...the boss is supposed to be Khun Know-It-All!" "...That's why he is my boss. Beside, he also earns more than me. How come he asked me to think. Thinking is the boss duty. Mine is only do the work...." At that time, I was scared and not assertive enough to ask him why he advised me like that. However, since he was a strong character, since then every time I encountered a problem I forced myself to find out more information, come up with many solutions, and evaluate the pros and cons. After a while, I realized that my analytical and presentation skills, had improved markedly. I also started to receive compliments from him about my proposed solutions. It built my self-confidence. I have to admit that if he didn't scare me with that question, I would not have been able to advance my career so much. Update your boss on what is going on in your work Most bosses like to know what is happening in his subordinate's work. Report the progress and update him regularly. Some cautions- Determine how frequently your boss would like to be updated. Provide information that fits his preferred communication style. Some bosses prefer written updates by email, memo or short notes. Some might prefer verbal face to face updates. Some might prefer short telephone conversations. Ask the boss directly or ask the secretary or close colleague of the boss. Document what you have done Thais are not good at documentation. We do not like to write things down, particularly in English. But in the corporate world, documentation is unavoidable. Benefits of recording discussions, results or minutes of meeting include: It can be used as reference document in the future for various reasons It can justify your salary incremental, if you have done lot of things It can be evidence. Particular when your existing boss will transfer in the future and you will get the new boss on board. What had been talked will not be useful when the person gone. If you use some of the guidelines above, you will enhance your working relationship with your Expat bosses and Expat colleagues. Please let me know if there are any more suggestions that you think are appropriate for Thais. Kriengsak Niratpattanasai DBS Thai Danu Bank, Bangkok, Thailand We are pleased to announce that Kriengsak now also writes for the Bangkok Post)

...from Kriengsak Niratappanasai's Thailand Tales

Kriengsak Niratpattanasai Thai Danu Bank Bangkok Thailand

Kriengsak was one of the Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine's earliest columnists and continues to provide some of the most savvy advice on the Net on working in Thailand. His down to earth advice from years of working with falang and locals mixed with local folkstories continues to delight and inform. Click on Kriengsak's picture to learn more about our great friend and colleague.

Thailand Tales Index - About Kriengsak - Other Columnists Join the APMF email list Monthly updates on new content

See also the Thailand Capsule and Prospect Reviews at Asia Market Research dot Com

Asia Pacific Management Forum   Asia Market Research dot com   Branding Asia dot com
asia's only dedicated daily ezine for the asian business, management, strategy & marketing professional
research articles   news   independent columnists   business strategy   market & street intelligence

© APMF and Kriengsak Niratpattanasai 2001